With the advent of cable television networks, cable customers have grown accustomed to receiving a variety of television programming from numerous broadcasting sources. In recent years, technology advances have enabled customers to receive an even greater variety of services through cable services networks. Modern cable services networks provide traditional video television programming, telephone services, high speed Internet access, electronic mail services, video-on-demand, information services, and the like. Through the use of set-top boxes (computing systems) cable services providers, also known as multiple system operators (MSO), can provide interactive television services to customers. Such interactive television services allow customers to interact directly with services providers in response to services and product offerings presented to the customers through their personal television sets.
Video-on-demand (VOD) allows cable services customers to request certain video programming to be played on their local television sets via customer set-top boxes at a time desired by customers. In a typical setting, a customer may select a desired movie, documentary, educational film, and the like from a list of titles displayed on the customer's television set via the set-top box.
According to prior systems, selected video programming titles are streamed from a cable system head end to the customer's set-top box and television set via a cable system hub that services a number of individual cable customers. That is, each requested video programming title is streamed from the cable system head end out to the requesting customer. Unfortunately, the streaming of individual titles to individual customers from the cable system head end consumes a significant amount of processing capacity at the head end, and transmission of the requested title from the cable system head end out to a servicing hub consumes a significant amount of transmission capacity between the head end and the servicing hub. Indeed, the streaming of a single movie may consume on the order of 3.75 megabits per second of processing and transmission capacity. Because assets of the cable system head end are tasked with many other services, such as traditional video television programming, television services, high speed internet access, electronic mail services, cable system management and maintenance services, and the like, use of the cable system head end for video-on-demand processing and transmission for each requested video programming request is inefficient and is overly burdensome on the head end system.
It is respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.